On February 3, 2023, RAWA held a gathering in Afghanistan on the occasion of Meena’s martyrdom anniversary. Meena, the shining star of the Afghan women’s revolutionary struggles and the founding leader of RAWA, was assassinated on February 4, 1987 in the city of Quetta, Pakistan.
The meeting started with following poem (in Farsi):
“Let us arise and find the path
Let us make the masses aware of our love
If the fist becomes aware alongside the passion of the people
We shall find a new grace within these deserts
…
We are currently celebrating this day that Afghanistan has literally turned into a hell for women and Meena’s grief-stricken absence is more than ever sensed among us. Afghanistan is at a point in its history where every bit of the society is polluted with the filth of fundamentalism to the extent where women are not even considered as humans. The doors of schools and educational centers are closed to the future generation and our country has become a prison and torture center for women and girls, much more disastrous than in the past.
Meena always warned that the struggle against the Russian invaders is not separate from the struggle against religious fundamentalism, these mercenaries and puppets of imperialism. Four decades ago, our leader with the awareness of the fundamentalists’ nature predicted that they are the prime enemies of women, civilization and progress. At the age of 23, Meena founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). She realized that despite the fact that Afghan women are oppressed by poverty, atrocious crimes, gender discrimination and feudal/misogynist culture, they have a great potential for revolution and if this half and silent section of the society becomes aware and organized, they will transform the society with their active contribution.
After the re-installation of Taliban to power by their US and Western lords, once again her foreseeing was proven correct. From the very first days when the Pakistani and American mercenaries came to power, it was the Afghan women who swarmed into the streets and protested against the medieval rules of these vomited elements of history. They were cruelly killed, beaten and tortured and thrown into prisons; They faced deadly pressures and threats; They stood firm in front of the Taliban's bullets… but never remained silent and continued to fight for their rights in any way possible and never surrendered…”
Later on in the ceremony, the choir of young girls performed the song "The Sun of Knowledge" in the lyrics of which we hear:
O bright sun of knowledge, rise!
On the darkened times and ruins of our homeland
O walker on the path of liberation
From the chains of ignorance
Storm and revive our revolution!
One of the activists of RAWA enlightened the participants on its policies, positions and activities in the current situation. At the beginning, she mentioned about the revolutionary personality and characteristics of Meena and her precious legacy, and later explained the current conditions and emphasized that the solution is neither disappointment nor hopelessness nor silence… except for hoisting up the flag reddened by Meena's blood; Raising women's political awareness and further mobilization of women; Exposing the various enemies of the country, from the imperialists and their criminal Taliban and Jihadi servants to the self-sold and mercenary intellectuals and penmen; Fighting against the rotten and misogynist ideas in the patriarchal and feudal society… there is no other alternative to break the shackles of imprisonment.
She continued to insist that the Taliban can never survive being a reactionary and dependent force that deprives people of their most basic rights, and history has proven that if the organization and struggle of the masses continues, this bloodthirsty and autocratic regime will not last long.
At the end of the speech, a video containing images of Meena and some of the recent activities of RAWA was presented, which was received with ovation by the participants.
Before reciting the poem "What went with my country…" by one of the members of RAWA, the presenter said:
“‘What went with my country’ is a poem by the ever-living Saeed Sultanpoor, a revolutionary poet and artist of Iran, whose prominent thoughts were reflected not only in his poetry but also in his life and death.
Comrade Sultanpoor was executed by Iran's barbaric regime, but his poems are still not only a roar of the pained and suffering in that land, but also a flame of resistance and defiance for the oppressed ones everywhere.
Today people of Iran once more, especially its women, have risen up and shaken the foundations of its regime. The bloodthirsty and traitorous mullahs will kill Mahsas, but the Zheenas and Neekas will become the seeds of Iran's revolution and will dig up the grave of this bloodsucking system.
Undoubtedly, the martyrs of the recent uprisings were the flag bearers of Sultanpoors, Gulesurkhis, Rozbehs, Behrangs, Eskoyees, and Kamangars and they made the glorious flag of their masses' struggles enflamed with their own blood.
While declaring solidarity with the Iranian revolution and the families of Iran's victims, RAWA believes that the downfall of the criminal rulers of Velayat-e-Faqih, will also inspire Afghan women in their struggle against the brutal rule of Taliban and it will have a significant impact on the collapse of the puppet fundamentalist founders of Shia and Sunni religion."
At the end of the event, the presenter expressed her gratitude to the mothers who came from far away on a cold and snowy day and added:
“Mothers and sisters,
If we consider ourselves as honest followers of Meena, we should not hesitate for a moment in continuing her ideals and goals. In the conditions where all the apertures of hope for women have been shut, it is our duty to become a source and reason of hope for the people, especially the oppressed women of Afghanistan and call out to them that silence and escaping from the struggle is not the solution. Our mission is to resist in the most difficult conditions and to fight against injustice and crime, because ‘struggle is the cure for all pains’!
Meena founded RAWA on the principle that ‘without the participation of women, no revolution will ever succeed!’ and emphasized that the liberation of women can only be achieved by their own hands. Because it is impossible to achieve an independent and progressive society without the freedom of a nation and without social justice and democracy based on secularism, the liberation and equality of women can never be attained.
The women of Afghanistan have a difficult and turbulent path ahead of them in the struggle against the religious fascism and the bloodthirsty Taliban and Jihadis, which without as extensive as possible awareness and mobilization of women and the solidarity and uprising of all ethnic groups and layers of the society will never be gained. Surely that this time women have taken the lead of the revolution and inevitably, the justice - seeking men will accompany them!”
